For Techies & Tech Curious: Python and PyMT developments - PyMT and speech recognition

PyMT is short for Python Multi-Touch, a project that is the work of several members of the NUI Group.  Sharath Patali experimented with speech input for PyMT and used the pocketsphinx library from CMU to integrate into PyMT. It worked out well, as you can see from his video demo below:


PyMT Speech Recognition from Sharath Patali on Vimeo.

Other people involved with the PyMT project are Nathanael Lecaude, Matthew Virbel, Thomas Hansen, and Xelapond.

Sharath Patali's Blog/Website Roll (Links to some NUI-group members)

• Divesh and Aditya’s Blog
• Harry van der Veen’s Blog
• Laurence Muller's Blog
• Linux Hacker ( Balaji R Rao)
• Paul D’Intino’s Orion
• Seth Sandler (Cerupcat)
• Sparsh-I Team
• Tommy’s MT Blog

Matthieu Virbel on Vimeo
NUI Group on Vimeo


Python and Game Programming Resources
Adaptation and Evaluation of Numpty Physics for Multi-touch Multiplayer Interaction (pdf)
(A python-based module called "numptyphysics" was created to integrate Python multi-touch cold to allow the C++ code to parse data, converting it to C structs passed to the game code using pointers.)
Python Programming Language Official Website
Pygame
PythonGames
PythonL Game Programming Wiki, by Geoff Howland and Rene Dudfield
Lectures 1-6
Beginning Game Development with Python and Pygame -Book (Will McGugan)
Game Programming with Python - Book (Sean Riley)

Comment:
The reason I'm putting together resources about Python, multi-touch, and games is that I hope to facilitate an exchange between two of the schools I serve as a school psychologist.

Both of the schools are on the same campus. One is a high school for technology and the arts, and one is a program for teens and young adults who have severe disabilities, including autism.  Next semester, one of the computer teachers will be teaching a game programming class using Python for a class of graduating seniors, and if all goes well, perhaps some of the students will create a game for the students with disabilities that would work well on a SMARTboard.

Even better:  It would be great if the pre-engineering students could build a multi-touch table or two for the students with disabilities, running games in PyMT that the computer students create!

CityScape 1.8: What would it be like on an interactive touch or gesture screen? (Video and link to demo)

Pixel Active, has announced version 1.8 of CityScape, "the rapid urban modeling tool that allows users to build both custom and real-world environments quickly and easily"

CityScape 1.8 looks ideal for use on an interactive touch/gesture display or table.  Since it allows people to work within the same environment concurrently,  I have a hunch that it might work, perhaps with a few tweaks, in multi-touch, multi-user situations.  

As you watch the video below, imagine your finger as the pointer, creating terrain, landforms, buildings, roads, and other structures and spaces, and editing on-the-fly.  

CityScape  "Real Cities, Real Fast" (via Digital Urban & YouTube)

The above video is of version 1.7. To learn about the new features, see the "What's New in CityScape 1.8" section of the Pixelactive website.

Unfortunately, it comes with a high price tag.  Even so, wouldn't it be a great tool to use in middle and high school classrooms?  I want to get the demo and try it out on a SMARTboard....I can think of quite a few ways that it could be put to work in learning environments.

About CityScape

"CityScape was created to reduce the tedious, labor intensive process of building and modifying urban environments, empowering the interactive world builders of tomorrow."

"Using robust data importing, rapid urban modeling, Active Adjustment features, and procedural modeling, CityScape is able to achieve substantial improvements in worker efficiency over traditional object modeling tools and scene editors.

Worlds created by CityScape are compatible with a variety of file formats and optimized for real-time rendering engines."

Pictures from the Pixelactive website:

CityScape's client-server model allows collaboration between co-located or distributed teams so that the environment can be modified concurrently if needed.  It also lets users to check regions in and out in order to work on things independently.

Terrain Painting                           Imported Heightmap

Dynamic adjustment allows you to quickly change your mind and modify without headaches!

If you change elevations, everything will adapt automatically.

Here's a picture of the traffic data generation feature:

Here is a picture of an example of CityScape's GIS data import feature:

Pixelactive Company Information

"PixelActive Inc. was founded in 2003 and is located in Carlsbad, California. Our mission is to develop state of the art interactive 3D technology. We believe that tools and technology should be intuitive to users regardless of its underlying complexity. Our focus is on the video game, virtual world, simulation, serious game, and GIS industries."

"The company's rapid urban modeling tool, CityScape, allows users to build both custom and real-world environments quickly and easily. With the editor, developers can focus on designing their world rather than the labor involved in creation. CityScape's unique feature set allows users to produce environments magnitudes faster than with traditional object modeling tools or scene editors."

"The PixelActive team has a track record of delivering exceptional products on time and on budget. Our core technology is focused on stability, reliability, modularity, usability, high performance and visual quality. PixelActive develops technology for a variety of PC platforms including Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista, and video game consoles such as the Microsoft XBox360™, Nintendo Wii™, and Sony Playstation® 3.P"

RELATED

Pixelactive Gallery

You can download a demo of CityScape from the Pixelactive website.

Urban Screens Conference & Exhibition: Call for Interactive Media and Video Art (2010, Toronto, Sept. 24-30)

I've been fascinated by urban screens for a while, and this is a passion that is shared by a growing number of people who come to the "screenspace" from a wide range of disciplines. I received an email this morning about a call for interactive media and video art for the 2010 Urban Screens conference and exhibition that will be held in Toronto between September 24th-30th 2010.  This is a great reason to plan ahead for a trip to that fantastic city!


Below is a description of the urban screens concept, the details for potential conference and exhibition partipation, and a section of links and resources related to this topic.
The theme of the conference is "I am here; what can we do?"

"Public screens – or rather large screens situated in public space – are proliferating in cities all over the world. How should we understand the emergence of the electronic screen from the domestic interior onto the streetscape of contemporary cities? What are the implications of the merging of screens with architecture, which turns the surface into a communication resource? How will the overlap between streetscape and datascape shape public space in the future?
– Scott McQuire, “Mobility, cosmopolitanism and public space in the media city” (2009).

"Urban screens are digital displays and visual interfaces situated in urban public spaces. They include LED screens and signs, plasma screens, projections, information terminals as well as intelligent architectural surfaces and media facades. They support the idea of using public space as a platform for creation and cultural exchange, strengthening the local economy and encouraging public interaction and discussion."  - Urban Screens Association


Call for Interactive Media And Video Art

The exhibition “I am here; what can we do?” is part of Urban Screens Toronto 2010, an international urban screens conference and exhibition taking place between September 24th-30th 2010; produced in collaboration with the International Urban Screens Association (IUSA).

Urban Screens Toronto 2010 will promote a multifaceted approach to exploring the growing appearance of moving images in urban space and the global transformation of public culture in the context of networked forms of urban screens. It will build on the successful events held in Amsterdam, Manchester, and Melbourne and will be the first international Urban Screens conference held in North America.

Through an integrated program of keynote lectures, panel sessions, workshops, curated screenings and multimedia projects, it will bring together leading Canadian and international artists and curators, architects and urban planners, designers, ad agencies and brand managers, screen operators and content providers, academics, activists, policymakers, technology manufacturers, software developers and more.

I am here; what can we do?

Public Call For:
New or existing experimental, interactive artwork suitable for urban screens.
Short-format video works relevant for presentation on urban screens.
Interactive design & advertising works created for urban screens including past commercial interactive work from advertising  agencies and designers.
Student work interactive and video work by students from any institution worldwide.
Themes include, but are not limited to: The meeting point of the real and the virtual; work that incorporates media technology and contemporary building/architectural technology; user-generated content; multi-site, networked projects; work that addresses public spaces and civic engagement.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Submission deadline: MARCH 1 2010
 Submission format: Please submit PDF files only, no larger than 3 MB.
 Proposals should include:
 1) Brief 50-word summary of your artwork
 2) Full proposal or description of the project (maximum 2 pages)
 3) Maximum 10 images and URL where work can be found online if applicable
 4) Documentation of this work if it has previously be exhibited, or of another exhibited work by the artist.
 3) Detailed list of technical requirements
 4) Curriculum Vitae (maximum 3 pages)
Fees: There is no entry fee. Reasonable presentation fees will be paid, for new and existing interactive work and videos. Fees will not be paid for design & advertising work. Students will not receive a fee, but will  be automatically considered for a prize. Please note that we cannot fund the creation of new work.
Submit; In the subject line please write URBAN SCREENS PROPOSAL
Email to JURY at:  urbanscreenstoronto@gmail.com
The jury will be comprised of Toronto Urban Screens committee members Michelle Kasprzak, Janine Marchessault, Gabe Sawhney, Suzanne Stein and Sharon Switzer.
Notification: April 1, 2010


RELATED
International Urban Screens Association
Urban Screens Blog
Urban Screens' Resources
Urban Screens '09 Videos  "The City as Interface"

Urban Screens' Blogroll
Digital Urban
Infosthetics
Interactive Architecture
Luminapolis
The Mobile City
Urban Projection
Visual Foreign Correspondents
We make money not art
Urban Screens Reader

"The Urban Screens Reader  is the first book to focus entirely on the topic of urban screens. In assembling contributions from a range of leading theorists, in conjunction with a series of case studies dealing with artists’ projects and screen operators’ and curators’ experiences, the reader offers a rich resource for those interested in the intersections between digital media, cultural practices and urban space."

"Urban Screens have emerged as a key site in contemporary struggles over public culture and public space. They form a strategic junction in debates over the relation between technological innovation, the digital economy, and the formation of new cultural practices in contemporary cities. How should we conceptualize public participation in relation to urban screens? Are ‘the public’ citizens, consumers, producers, or something else? Where is the public located? When a screen is erected in public space, who has access to it and control over it? What are the appropriate forms of urban planning, design and governance? How do urban screens affect cultural experiences?"

FYI:
I'm re-visiting all of the above blogs and will share what I find after I surface from the digital rabbit-hole!

UPDATED: More News, Videos, and Links about Multi-touch and Screen Technologies

UPDATED
More news about multi-touch and screen technologies!

"Holographic" Multitouch   (Eatang Digital Technology)

Holographic muitltouch from eggwong on Vimeo
Eggwong's company is Eatang Digital Technology.  Although most of the website is in Chinese, it looks like it provides interactive design services as well as software kits.


How to Build a 20" Multiitouch Screen in Three Weeks (Ben Unsworth - Globalcore)

How to Build a 20' Multitouch Screen in 3 Weeks from Ben Unsworth on Vimeo.


Globacore
Globacore used four 72" Blue Ocean Low Gain Screens 16:9 to create their twenty-foot multi-touch wall, which I think was also used for the "holographic" screen in the first video. The tracker and base flash API from the NUI-group were used in this system.
I wasn't sure if I'd heard about Blue Ocean screens.  Much to my surprise, the company behind Blue Ocean is Nippura, located in Japan.  Nippura has another office in Charlotte, N.C.
For years,  Nippura's core business has been focused on creating "the world's largest acrylic panels, tunnels, cylinders and spheres for the professional aquarium industry", but is also focused on screen systems as well.

US Nippura/Blue Ocean Projection Screens
Blue Ocean screens were use in the second videos of this post.  Below is some information the screens from the company's website:
"Blue Ocean® Projection Screens are the first ever to cast the screen into a hi-tolerance viewing plane centered between two ultra-clear panels of cell-cast acrylic, the same type of material used in hi-optic fighter jet canopies and the world’s largest aquariums. Blue Ocean® Projection Screens also offer something never before found in screens: self-rigidity.  The thickness of each screen can be fabricated so that it maintains its form without external frames or tension systems. Frameless high definition projected images without borders amplify the infinite depth viewing experience.  Because of its durability, outdoor applications of entertainment around the garden and pool are also possible. Normal wear and tear scratching has no long-term effect on the screens’ performance, and a ten year old screen, simply re-polished, will literally look and perform exactly as it did the day it left the factory."
Super High Definition Stereo Image using 4K Projection Systems (pdf)
Tetsuro Ogi, Hiroaki Daigo, So Sato, Yoshisuke Tateyama, Yasuaki Nishida, International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence 2008

NUITEQ 
NUITEQ offers single and duo-touch plugins for Snowflake Suite that enables the software to run on NEXIO and NextWindow screens, including NextWindow's screens that are integrated in the HP TouchSmart and Dell Inspiron all-in-one PC's and others.  SnowFlake Suite is also compatable with 3M Touch Systems, N-Trig, and Lumino.  You can view the SnowFlake Suite application in action on NUITEQ's YouTube channel.
"NUITEQ's software product Snowflake Suite, which received a Stevie Awards finalist recognition for Best New Product or Service of the Year 2009 - Media & Entertainment, is available to end clients, software developers, system integrators, VAR's and OEM's. Snowflake operates on a wide variety of hardware technology platforms including rear camera based solutions, IR overlay systems, bending wave, surface acoustic wave (SAW), projected and surface capacitive, resistive and other touch technologies for small hand held mobile devices and larger scale interactive displays."
Recent news: NUITEQ Assists LTU Skelleftea at SACO event with new educational multi-touch desk


FingerTapps
Software platform for multi-touch solutions:
Video:  FingerTapps on the Dell Inspiron 19
Dell Studio One 19:  All-in-One Stunner Takes Japan
FingerTapps collaborated with DigitalDM Digital Publishing to support interactive media panels (IMAS) for use in retail settings, as well as digital print publishing.  


NextWindow and All-In-One PC's:
NextWindow, the company that made the large single-touch display I used for a couple of class projects nearly three years ago, has really grown over the past few years.  NextWindow provides optical touch screens for the HP TouchSmart PC, and also for the Dell Inspiron Studio One All-In-One PC, and the Dell Sx2210T desktop monitor.   The next Dell with a NextWindow touch screen will be the Inspirion One 19, an all-in-one PC.   You can find NextWindow touch screens in the Medion X9613, the NEC ValueStar W, and the Sony L Series.  (NextWindow has Windows 7 certification for touch screens)

STANTUM and GUNZE USA
Stantum has partnered with Gunze USA, a manufacturer of resistive touch-panels, to co-design and deliver multi-touch products.  "Gunze USA will provide these custom multi-touch modules to the North American market for use in industrial, automotive, defense, aerospace, medical, kiosk/point-of-sales, and other professional applications. Unlike capacitive multi-touch, Stantum’s technology is particularly well suited to these professional markets, thanks to its:

• immunity to EMI issues, via easy coexistence with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth antennas around the screen;
• stylus input and high precision, enabling handwriting recognition; and
• ability to work flawlessly with gloves."

According to the press release, Stantum's multi-touch technologies provide advantages such as handling 10 or more touches at a time, finger and stylus input, finger-pressure consumption, and native Windows 7 support, with no need for a driver. Developers can order the "beta" version of the Slate PC, based on the Dell Inspiron Mini netbook platform, from the Stantum website. 


GESTURETEK
The video below is of an interactive 3D application created for the Gondwana Das Praehistorium in Schiffweler, Germany, and provides an simulation of what it might be like to be a flying ancient pterosaur of giant dragonfly.  Two gamers can play at the same time.  If you want to fly, you flap your arms, and navigate by leaning. You crouch to dive, and increase your speed by flapping your arms even faster:
GestureTek's 3D Interactive Flying and Virtual Game Experience for Gonwana Museum

This company always has something going on that looks fun and interactive.  To get an idea this company's interactive work, take a look at the information on the GestureTek website links below. GestureTek has a variety product videos on the website.


GestureTek Health
GestureTek Mobile Gaming
GestureTek mobile gaming videos
GestureTek Product Summary
GestureTek in Science Centers, Aquariums, Zoos, and Visitor Centers


Lm3Labs

Toshiba equip with Ubiq'window and Catchyoo

Lm3Labs' videos on Vimeo 

Lm3Labs' Ubiquwindow TV videos
Lm3labs Blog

View more documents from LM3LABS.

Lm3labs Air Strike Overview (Slideshare)


SNIBBE INTERACTIVE
Snibbe Interactive was founded by Scott Snibbe to develop social immersive media as a communication medium that incorporates the language of cinema and engages participation and interaction with others (and technology) through unencumbered body movements.  



Get in the Action Prototype

Get in the Action Prototype - Snibbe Interactive from Oriol Ferrer Mesià on Vimeo.




Scott Snibbe's Social Immersive Media presentation at Stanford's Seminar on People, Computers and Design, 5/2009

'Scott Snibbe of Sona Research discusses a distinct form of augmented reality focused on social interaction: social immersive media. He discusses design principles and interaction techniques to create strong emotional responses and social engagement through visceral interaction. He also describes approaches to clearly communicate cultural and scientific ideas through the medium, and how to promote specific distinct social behavior in uses." -YouTube description


RELATED
Globacore  "Globacore was founded by Ben Unsworth and Jeff Williams out of a passion for technology, art, and business. Globacore began as a web hosting and development company supporting the the technical needs of sports apparel startup VC Ultimate and it's associated companies."

"Globacore Inc. was officially incorporated in April 2003. In 2007 Ben and Jeff were joined by programmer Kyle Davis and graphic designer (and trail biker) Matt Venhuizen. In 2008, the Flexmaster Lukasz Ruminski joined us and continues to be a huge member of our team.Update: We'd like to welcome our newest team member: Developer Dave Rapin!"

Globacore Interactive Technologies
67 Mowat Ave. Suite 431
Toronto, ON
M6K 3E3
Phone: + 1 (416) 925-2082
Tollfree: + 1 (888) 309-7658
Fax: + 1 (647) 477-3270 
General Email: info@globacore.com


BLUE OCEAN/NIPPURA

Blue Ocean/ Nippura US Website
Blue Ocean Product Information (pdf)
3611 Tryclan Dr.
Charlotte, NC  28217
Phone: 704-561-9191
Web: www.usnippura.com



NEXTWINDOW
NextWindow's Touch Technologies Overview
Optical Touch and All-In-One PC's
News Release:  NextWindow Patents (pdf)

Contact: David Villarina, NextWindow

+1 (925) 272-4530
dvillarina@nextwindow.com

NUITEQ
Natural User Interface Technologies AB(Headquarters)
Laboratorgränd 7
93162 Skellefteå
Sweden

Phone: +46 702865975
Fax: +46 851989240
mail@nuiteq.com

3M Touch Systems US
3M's Touch Topics information site
Multi-touch@mmm.com
 
Natural User Interface Asia Pte Ltd (Asia office)
12 Little Road
#06-01 Lian Cheong Industrial Building
Singapore 536986
Phone: +65 6748 5245
Fax: +65 6748 7961

FINGERTAPPS
Contact: James Bell-Booth
james[at]fingertapps.com
+64 21 226 6399
www.fingertapps.com/


STANTUM
Slate PC Proof of Concept Datasheet (pdf)
Contact: Francois Jeanneau
Sales and Business Development
Director, Stantum North America
Berkeley, CA, USA
Cell: +1 (510) 928 56 17
f.jeanneau@stantum.com

GUNZE USA
Product Overview
Contact:Gunze Electronics USA
2113 Wells Branch Parkway, #5400
Austin, Texas 78728
Tel: 512-990-3400 Fax: 512-252-1181

LM3LABS
Website: http://lm3labs.com/ENG/index_eng.html
info@lm3labs.com
Europe:
Antipolis Innovation Campus
300, route des Cretes
06560 Sophia-Antipolis France
Hong Kong, China
+852-8198.8406
Australia
+61(02)8011.3342
USA: +1(646)461.6146
TGarden Square 409
3-5-26 Funabori
Edogawa-ku
134-0091 Tokyo, Japan
+81(0)3.3877.0779


SNIBBE INTERACTIVE
1073 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
+1 415 822 1442
sales@snibbeinteractive.com
Snibbe Interactive Blog
2010 Interactive Catalog (pdf)
HOLDING TANK
Peau Productions
Diffusers and Projection Screens Comparison Site
(Provides photos and video of various screens and diffusers used for optical-based multi-touch systems.)


NUI-Group
Wiki: Comparison of rear projection films
Forum Thread

Outdoor Media Company (China)
Products
Contact: Kuo Lin  (?)
 
42x46 Multi-touch LCD Display

HIWAD TOUCH - Beijing Yhjn Science and Technology Co. LTD



Interactive Sandbox 

"An interactive sand box or sand table for use in tactical training includes an automated control system and image generator so that infinitely variable visual images may be projected onto the contoured surface of the sand for training and preparation for action in the military field and disaster control, industrial planning, environmental protection, and similar situation."


Interactive Holographic Touch Screen



Beijing Yihejianing Science and Technology Co., Ltd
Address: Room 621, Jinyuan Modern shopping Mall, NO.1 Yuanda Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
TE:8610-88892897，88892895
FAX:8610-88892867-801
Email: hxrong2001@hotmail.com
http://www.cnhci.cn

More News, Videos, and Links About Multi-touch and Screen Technologies: Eatang's "Holographic" Multitouch, Globacore & Blue Ocean Screens; NextWindow, NUITEQ, FingerTapps, Stantum, GUNZE USA, GestureTek

This post was recently updated and moved. You can find it at by visiting the link below:

UPDATED: More News, Videos, and Links about Multi-touch and Screen Technologies

Sensacell Modular Interactive Surface Technology: Interactive Art in NYC

Interactive surfaces continue to crop up in public spaces.  Today I came across information about Sensacell, an interface system consisting of "smart" modules that can be put together to form a communication network. The system integrates non-contact sensors that can detect people and objects up to six feet away, and this sensing can occur even through glass, plastics, wood, and so forth.  The sensors are capable of tracking environmental changes.


The Sensacell Corporation is led by Leo Fernekes and is often used to support interactive art  and related displays in public spaces. The most recent installation is located in Manhattan and can be accessed by peop on the street.


Robert Stratton Interactive Art

According to the information on the YouTube video, the Sensacell Interactive LED Wall was created with Max/MSP/Jitter.


"The artwork by Robert Stratton entitled semiboneless transforms the storefront window into an electronic interactive canvas that senses hand movements through the window glass, allowing the viewer to interact and influence the behavior of the piece- art that begs to be touched." (YouTube description)


"The work is located at 141 East 33rd Street, on the north-east corner of Lexington Ave. and 33rd St. in Manhattan, New York. The exhibition will run from 12/14/2009 though 1/12/2010 and is viewable 24 hours day. The artwork is installed in a large storefront window of a street level retail space." (PR Web 12/17/09)


Sensacell: Below is a video of an 8 x 8 LED Wall Sensacell Module



RELATED
Working with Sensacell: Modular Interactive Proximity Sensor and Lighting System (pdf)
Sensacell Corporation Presents an Interactive Storefront Art Installation by Artist Robert Stratton  (PRWeb, 12/17/09)
Robert Stratton Interactive Art
Chashama (An arts group - provided space for the interactive art installation.)
"chashama supports thriving cultural communities by transforming temporarily vacant properties into spaces where art can flourish. By recycling and repurposing buildings in transition, we invest in neighborhoods, foster local artists, and sustain a vast range of creativity and culture."


Sensacell has been around for a while
2005 post:   Sensacell  (Interactive Architecture blog)


Sensacell Interactive Floor


Cross posted on The World Is My Interface

WebTaps HDTV and Touch-Screen Web Browser: Share a view of the web on your HDTV from your family couch!

Wasn't there a moment about ten years ago when we thought the next wave of the Internet would arrive on our televisions?  


A new wave is on the horizon, now that more homes have large flat-panel HDTVs!


With interactive TV programming and the buzz about anywhere, anytime TV on our mobile devices, it just seems right to have a chance to snuggle up with loved ones around the family room HDTV and experience some happy web-sharing moments, as depicted in the cozy picture below from the WebTaps website:








So how do you interact with the giant web?  According to information on the website, you can use your wireless mouse, your TV remote control, or choose from one of the following devices, available for purchase from the WebTaps Accessories Store:


There is too much to summarize, so here is a copy of the press release, from Steaming Media:

WebTaps Releases HDTV Web Browser

WebTaps announces the availability of the first HDTV web browser with integrated intelligent virtual keyboard and screen scaling technology


Rockville, Maryland (December 17, 2009) -

WebTaps, a developer of web browsing software for HDTVs and touch screen PCs, today announced the availability of the WebTaps HDTV Web Browser. The browser is designed to be used from across the room in a TV viewing environment to augment or replace the content otherwise available on the HDTV. WebTaps offers the only HDTV web browser that automatically scales web content to the full size of the HDTV screen and includes a truly intelligent virtual keyboard. The patent-pending intelligent virtual keyboard knows when and where to appear on-screen so that text can be easily entered while watching from across the room.

"WebTaps has finally brought the full internet, including access to every website, to the biggest and best screen in the home - the HDTV," said Scott Lincke, CEO of WebTaps. "WebTaps enables people to sit back and comfortably access great sites like Hulu.com, Facebook, YouTube, and Google. They can easily find content and sit back to watch together with their friends and family instead of staring at a laptop screen. WebTaps really transforms how people can use their HDTV by bringing an infinite supply of content, unlimited by their cable company or over-the-air TV signal."


To get started, users of PC-connected HDTVs download the free software installer from www.WebTaps.com. No user signup is required. The user simply selects their country and language and the software is ready to use. A localized content guide is presented, showing great content sites. Alternately, users can enter any web address or search any of the leading search engines.

WebTaps plans to distribute its products through retailers and PC OEMs in 2010. "We are pleased by the reaction to our products," said Scott Lincke. "Web browsing on HDTVs saves people money spent on premium services and they tell us that it gives them even more functionality than their DVR since they don't have to think ahead about what they want to record. Suddenly anything available on the web can be watched on their big screen TV."


WebTaps HDTV Web Browser product evaluation kits are available for qualified press personnel. In addition, WebTaps will have representatives available to answer further questions at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, 2010. Please contact WebTaps at pr@WebTaps.com for more information.

###

About WebTaps Inc.


WebTaps Inc. develops technology and products that enable web browsing on HDTVs and touch-screen PCs. The company offers its solutions for sale directly to consumers and for licensing to PC OEMs and service providers. WebTaps standard version is available as a free download. Additionally a premium version is available with or without a WebTaps wireless remote control. Further information about WebTaps and the WebTaps HDTV Web Browser can be found at www.WebTaps.com.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.




WEBTAPS INC.
Editorial Contact:
Scott Lincke
(202) 713-5620
pr@WebTaps.com

For a smile: "Musical Heads" - Watch the "Neurosonics Audiomedical" video (via Chris O'Shea)

Chris O'Shea's Pixelsumo blogs is one of my favorites. His recent post,  "Musical Heads" featured three different takes on the theme.  The one I liked best was Neurosonics Audiomedical, created by Chris Cairns.


I didn't see the video when it was set loose on the Internet about four months ago. The musical heads in the video include Shlomo,  Foreign Beggars, and The Scratch Perverts.


I usually don't search on the internet for disembodied musical beat boxing heads!

Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc. from Chris Cairns on Vimeo.

Neurosonics Audiomedical Website  (More about the video)



RELATED
Who is Chris Cairns? Johnathan Wells, Flux 9/15/09
(Interview- includes some information about how the video was made.)
Partizan Website
Chris O'Shea's Pixelsumo Blog

(Link will take you to O'Shea's visual blog index.)


Thanks, Chris O'Shea, for your blog, full of interesting, creative, and sometimes very unusual things.
Thanks, Chris Cairns & musicians, for sharing your creativity with the world.

Missed this one: Microsoft Surface in the Mix Lounge on Holland America Cruise Ships

They didn't have this on the Veendam when I was on the cruise! This video doesn't show anything new or exciting if you are familiar with tabletop/multi-touch/gesture based computing. I'm sure it will be eye opening to the average cruise ship passenger.



Microsoft Surface is New Coolness on Veendam Holland America Blog (5/4/09)


Press Release:
Seattle, Wash., December 7, 2009 —
"As part of its ongoing Signature of Excellence enhancements, Holland America Line will install five Microsoft® Surface® units in Mix, its newest lounge venue with three specialty bars — Martinis, Champagne, and Spirits & Ales. Already in full operation on ms Veendam, Mix and Surface units will be completed on ms Rotterdam by mid-December, followed by three additional ships."


"An exciting new entertainment space, Mix is a destination lounge where guests can meet and mingle throughout the day and night. Mix is an open and inviting space anchored by a pianist providing entertainment for the three distinctly themed specialty bars."


More:  Holland America Line Features Microsoft Surface in New Mix Lounge on Several Ships